Subterranean recreation
Shapiro wants Laurel Caverns to become state park
While it may have taken generations, it seems that the Laurel Caverns will finally be recognized as a state park.
“Every single owner, along with so many people in the community, have worked to advance this concept of preserving the Laurel Caverns,” said David Cale, co-owner and president of Laurel Caverns Conservancy. “Everyone who has owned this has always thought this is a park that should be, and needs to be, preserved.”
That cross-generational dream of protecting the natural calcareous sandstone cave looks like it is finally coming to fruition.
During Tuesday’s proposed budget address, Gov. Josh Shapiro outlined plans to acquire the Farmington caverns through a donation from its owners David and Lillian Cale to make it Pennlsyvnia’s 125th state park and the commonwealth’s first underground state park.
“Pennsylvania is home to some of the most beautiful and remarkable places in the country, and I want more people to experience them…And as we look to the future, we need to invest in the key sectors that are going to fuel our growth,” Shapiro said.
According to the conservancy website, Laurel Caverns is a large natural calcareous sandstone cave where many of the passage ceilings in its four-mile labyrinth are between 10 and 20 feet high, making it the largest cave in Pennsylvania. Laurel Caverns is also considered the largest bat hibernacula in the northeast United States.
David Cale said the announcement came as a welcomed surprise.
“We were so pleased, I mean we just were really pleased,” he said. “I know we have put a lot of work in, but we have to give credit to the governor because he’s the one that took action.”
The acquisition of Laurel Caverns would include future work on infrastructure, safety improvements, and a concession agreement to operate the public tour portion of the new park.
Wesley Robinson, press secretary for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DNCR), said in a statement that the conservancy has long supported the idea that the Laurel Caverns should be a state park.
David Cale said that since his grandfather purchased the caverns in 1961 at the age of 68, the consensus of every owner has been to preserve the caves.
“My grandfather ended up selling the caves (a few months later) to two attorneys from Greensburg, Emmett C. Boyle, Jr. and Ned J. Nakles, and they furthered this idea of conservation and protecting the park.”
The park has exchanged ownership several times until the Cales became the sole owners in 1986 after their lifelong family friends Donald and Eunice Shoemaker sold their shares.
“The Shoemakers deserve a lot of credit for the caverns and what they did to help conserve the park,” David Cale said.
As for what comes next, Robinson said the DNCR is working with the conservancy on the donation of the property, and once an agreement is finalized, the DCNR will collaborate to ensure tours will continue. The agency will also begin planning facility improvements and increase staffing.
And while it may seem like there are a lot of changes, the transition should be a smooth one for customers since the Cales, along with previous owners, have made a point to run Laurel Caverns like a state park.
“Since 1973 there has been a mandate to operate Laurel caverns as if it was a state park,” David Cale said. “That was the agreement, that was the mandate…and it’s been the legacy ever since.”
A specific timeline has not been set for the transition.